The Return of the Snake
by Alexiamorana
Summary: A new teacher and old friend returns to Hogwarts; can Snape put up with her or their past? Rated M  originally published 2004; edited slightly
1. The Arrival

Hello all! As part of my slow reintegration into fanfic, I pulled a big no-no and edited an old story (originally posted and updated early 2004) for some grave errors and slight plot points. However, 99% of it is the same as was written when I was fourteen and so I did not change much since having learned of Snape's relationship to Lily. So sorry if it seems a little AU or OC, perhaps.

And on the off chance that you recognize the title or content, do not be alarmed, you are not crazy. Enjoy! - AM

* * *

The train that had departed from Platform 9 ¾ earlier that day slowly pulled to a halt sometime in the evening not far from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Excited students rustled about in the cars of the train, impatient to jump out and dash towards their home away from home. For some, it was the only place that could be considered home. In the very back of the train beyond any disturbances sat a young woman with legs and arms crossed tight, head lolled against the glass window. The sudden stop of the train jolted her forward; she flashed open her dark green eyes in response, pushing her short black and red-streaked hair off her face. Grabbing her small bag from the seat across from her, she gracefully stood, straightening out her black robes and cape with pale, long-fingered hands. She pulled down an oversized but neatly packed truck from above and stepped off the train into the coming nightfall. She could see first years herded by Hagrid a few meters down who were to be taken across the lake by boat to the castle. But like the rest of the student body, she was carried by way of carriage. No one had recognized her so far which was perfect; she liked to be as discrete as possible. She had to be.

Reaching the steps of the castle, she strode to Professor McGonagall when she heard her name called through the crowd.

"Kemi! Come with me."

She gave a hint of a smile, although more evident, a scowl, as she approached the head of the Gryffindor house who could not be considered an ally, or a friend, to an ex-Slytherin.

The students were introduced to the castle by another teacher she did not recognize. McGonagall silently led the new teacher to the Great Hall where the doors were already propped open and excited students delved into telling each other about their summer vacations.

The woman following McGonagall only had one thought that would not leave her mind. _He's here_. She hadn't seen him since they graduated and they had left each other on very sour footing. She couldn't look up yet from the smooth flooring on which she tread. She did not want to see him. Not just yet.

As she strode to the High Table several steps behind McGonagall, she could feel all the other years' eyes boring into her. She peered to her side at the Gryffindor table briefly before turning her gaze to Dumbledore straight ahead of her.

The old headmaster stood to greet his new arrival and bowed; she granted him a slight bow herself and a knowing gaze that she hoped no one else caught. He requested a seventh year Hufflepuff to take her bags and set them behind the main table for time being.

Keeping appearances, Kemi did not heed the student and replied to Dumbledore in a soft but sure voice, "Thank you for accepting me."

_This would have been much smoother __if I__ had taken the earlier train_, she thought. She would have been able to escape the opening ceremonies as well as the eyes of old peers and new students and hide in her quarters until requesting to meet with the headmasters. Instead, she had been in a hurry to finish packing and lost a few articles of clothing in the shuffle as she left her home to rush to the train station. If she wasn't such a mess, she could have hidden away someplace in this massive expanse of a castle in an effort to not even lay eyes upon the man she had known so well as a teenager.

She successfully blocked the form of the man from her peripheral view until Dumbledore requested her to sit near the end of the table. _Fuck_, she thought, immediately seeing who was there. Striding swiftly, she accepted the chair positioned between an extremely short man and the tall head of Slytherin house who was vaguely staring out at the students. Out of the corner of her eye, she studied him and was astounded how he had changed. How _worn_ he looked. And despite their years apart, she could already recall his voice in her head as if they had just spoken yesterday.

She noticed that he tried not to glace at her as well and she found difficulty in suppressing a weak smile.

Once the new first years were sorted, Dumbledore stood from his throne-like chair and gave the usual Just-Don't-Get-Yourself-Killed announcements before motioning towards Kemi.

"We are also introducing a new teacher and subject this year. Her course is the Languages and Cultures of the Wizarding Society." There was a round of applause from the students as the Headmaster continued. "Yes. Yes. Settle down. Miss Kemi comes to us from Australia where she resided after graduating here at Hogwarts.

She felt strangely uncomfortable and very out of place since she had not stepped foot in Hogwarts for years and the man who sat beside her had not heard her voice in an equal amount of time. She was frightened but was an expert at swallowing her emotions, thinning her lips, and pierce the eyes of anyone who dared to look her way.

She raised herself and crossed her arms before her, giving a slight bow of the head in greeting before she sat again and unfolded her arms to smooth her robes down her legs.

The short teacher next to Linea immediately congratulated her for returning; he was very happy to see another one of his students again. The man on her other side interrupted him with a "Pardon me" and asked to speak to her. She swallowed another bite and looked down at her plate that magically refilled itself with the next course.

Snape adjusted himself in his seat and spoke to the air softly.  
"Why are you back here, Lin?"

_Gods, his voice_. She realized she had missed it. She hated it. She hated him for even daring to speak to her.

"Why do you call me that?" She didn't think he would be so familiar again so soon. "And like I said, Dumbledore requested me." Jabbing her knife into the platter before her, she cut it as if it were the neck of the man who spoke to her. "Nothing more. Nothing less." A sarcastic smile was all that she needed to get her point across.

"Don't try anything."

She snapped her head to the side, tightening her grip on the handle of her knife, angling it slightly on her plate towards his body. "What could you possibly mean? Who said I was looking to fuck you again?"

Professor Flitwick broke into a sudden fit of coughing from which Linea relieved him with a tough slap to the back.  
Snape's widened eyes drifted back towards his plate and said nothing else. They exchanged no more words for the rest of the meal.

Once plates were cleared, Linea left the hall as swiftly as possible. Professor McGonagall found her just outside the doors after the students passed through and offered to show Linea her room. The younger teacher replied that she'd rather sleep in her classroom, which turned out to be next door to the potion master's own.

_Could come in handy_...

She smiled when she noticed she had her own personal library against one entire wall. She fingered the spines of _Interpreting troll-the Ugh and Uggh_, _Mermish- Fish or Human_, and then an extremely large, dusty volume bound in chains: _The Song of the Siren_. She turned to stare at the large poster of language trees covering the entire back wall. She had no personal office, so she conjured another table to set against the last empty wall. She unpacked a few personal books and locked them away in a drawer.

* * *

By Halloween all of her students counted her as their second least favorite teacher, Severus Snape being the most despised. The Slytherins loved her to death, almost as much as their potions master. Obviously, she and Snape had practically grown up together as secret friends; they would have a few things in common. As a few Gryffindors were departing her class one day, she heard some mutter amongst themselves.

"You'd think Snape and her-"

"-were siblings?"

"No, I was thinking lovers..."

They were stopped short by a sever outburst. "50 points from Gryffindor for suggesting something so asinine. Now get out before I think otherwise." They sped out as a Slytherin snickered.

"What is so funny, Nigel?"

"Nothing. Professor."

She raised an eyebrow as she was milling over a pile of parchments that were just turned in. "Move along."

Several minutes later she could hear hard footsteps resonating into her classroom. She was still correcting papers and did not look up as she informed her intruder that he must knock or announce himself before entering her chamber.

"I just heard something quite interesting, Kemi. A student of yours stumbled across me in the passage and muttered something. Do you happen to know what that was?" He slammed his palms on her desk, disrupting a jar of a green liquid that smashed on the floor. It began to burn into the stones at his feet and he stepped back.

She did not return his gaze and only ordered that he replace what he just destroyed. She sighed and added, "I don't know what he said. What _did _ he say, hm? Because I have no desire to pay attention to, what are they, rumors?"

"That is exactly what we do not want, Kemi. Our history is something that should not be-"

She interrupted him. "So what did the boy say to you?"

Snape glared at her crossly while Linea leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs on the desk, cloak draping over the sides. They both stared at each other blankly until he related that the student suggested that he return to his "whore and screw her since it looks like they need it so badly."

She smirked, slamming her feet back on the floor and leaning forward, peering up at him with stabbing green eyes. He was not amused.

"Why did you decide to tell me this? I'm sure you can handle it on your own. Because according to the student we need to get laid."

"Do not think for a moment-"

"-that I would _want _to sleep with you again? I thought I made that clear at the opening ceremony. Ah, Snape, you're fooling yourself." Smirking, she stood to his eyelevel. He backed away an inch.

Continuing in a more sly tone,"I know you'll never be able to admit that to yourself. I was the only one, the only girl who dared to befriend you. Besides Lily Evans that is." At the sound of her name his lips thinned. "But instead she decided on Potter in the end. And when I showed up, you relied on me the next year. And the following. Every single night, Snape." With each word she took a step around the desk closer to him.

He began to seethe.

"You could not get enough. Because that was the _only_ true friendship, the only true love you ever really received from anyone. And you will _never_ have anyone like me again."  
Her rant was disrupted when he grabbed her left forearm. It began to burn horribly.

"Never think that I did not appreciate the time you wasted with me. But never attempt to drag me into your ridiculous life again. I'm not the needy boy you thought you were in love with-"

"Severus-"

"You will address me properly. I've talked to Dumbledore, Kemi. That you should be relocated to another part of the building-"

"Unfortunately for you that's not going to happen." She shoved past him in a swish of robes, leaving Snape smoldering next to her desk.

* * *

"You cannot do this Headmaster!"

"And why not? It's a wonderful learning opportunity."

"But she's-"

"I don't care, Professor. This is interdisciplinary and she's already agreed to it. Get past your previous life-"

"Agreed?"

"Why are you so flustered? You've never been like this before. But that only stands to reason since you've never...Anyway, leave me to my work. I discovered a very interesting item the other day at Zonko's."

* * *

"I want two students. Who in here knows French?" Linea was standing before her desk, one hand raised in gesture. "Come on, you fools. It's standard issue. Anyone know German? No? How can any of you expect to learn such complicated languages as troll and siren when you can't even speak a normal bloody language besides English?"

The class stared silently. She was pacing between desks now. "Was there not a prerequisite to this class?"

The Slytherin to her left replied, "No – no, professor."

She sighed. "I'll have to talk to the Headmaster. In the meantime, continue with Leprechaun. Page 81 in the accompaniment."

Her classroom doors were slammed open at that moment. Snape stood in the doorway looking slightly perturbed.

"I find it quite rude to barge in on one's class, Professor Snape. I thought it common practice to knock first. Obviously, you have a problem understanding that? Now what do you want?" She followed him into the hallway where the doors shut again. Snape stared at her coldly and when she said nothing, he noted that "This is to take place for two weeks before winter break, correct?"

She nodded. "Is that a problem? If it's a problem, we can speak to the headmaster again, but we're both mature adults now, Severus. Aren't we?"

It was obvious by Snape's clenching teeth that he did not appreciate her efforts to provoke an argument.

"So why do you come interrupting my class in the middle of the day? I only have two periods as it is and those are only twice a week."

"I wished to know what you will need of me."

They passed back into her classroom, the students trying to ignore their two most feared teachers in the same room. As Linea rummaged though her desk, Snape stood, folded in his robes, and watched the students. Unfortunately for him, no one acted up while he was there. He was a bit disappointed and told her so.

She whispered back, "You forgot how much I'm like you, Severus."

As she shuffled through another pile, she told the room what they'd be doing. "In a couple weeks, we will start a unit between this class and potions. Since you chose this class, you will know that all of you have potions directly after this, and my later period has potions directly before. This was scheduled for convenience. Both of us will be in the classroom together so you'll have a double period. We will be creating a potion that causes the drinker to be completely stupefied. Yet another will cause the drinker to recognize and respond to any language that he hears, and another...will allow you to...ah, here it is."

She handed Snape the parchment with the ingredients. "Many of these you don't have," she muttered. "I looked," she said, ignoring his 'How dare you' stare and continued. "The quantities and whatnot are listed." She yelled at a girl for speaking to herself while reading.

Clenching the parchment in a tight fist, Snape swiftly brushed away and left. Linea did not watch him depart, instead returning her attention to her class.

* * *

Once the day was through and it was nearing dusk, Linea laid down her quill and roamed about the castle. She greeted a few older Slytherin boys and eventually made it out to the Quidditch field without being disturbed. It was empty except for a Hufflepuff who was practicing by himself, poorly doing so in the process. After spending an hour outdoors in silent thought, contemplating the months that swiftly passed, she decided to return to the castle. She made her way back down to the dungeons and heard the clanking of jars. She stood in the doorway, watching several measuring instruments and school cauldrons floating back to their places. Snape had his back to the door but wasn't startled when Linea suggested making the students put them away.

"They left for some demonstration and didn't return though I told them to...20 points sound reasonable?"

"So it would seem."

Folded within her own robes, Linea entered the room and stopped behind him. He paused and questioned, "Why are you here?"

"Should I need a reason? You're not teaching are you?"

He pocketed his wand and spun on her. "Have you not learned that I do not wish to be disturbed, Kemi?"

"I felt it was about time to appologize. We're adults now." She couldn't believe the words had just sprung from her mouth like that. She hadn't considering this confrontation at all during her stay.

He was equally shocked, cocking his head slightly and crossed his arms tight across his chest. "That's unnecessary."

He went to sit on his large chair while she took to the back and fingered the title of several books. She placed her hand on the cover of one stacked and closed her eyes. "Yes it is. Listen to me without sneering for once, please. You did have friends. Rosier, Wilkes, the rest. Your own gang that are now nearly all dead or captured since becoming death eaters. But I don't think that they ever understood you like I did."

"Don't be so full of yourself. I do not wish to be lectured, Kemi."

"I'm not lecturing." She kept her cool tone, opening her eyes and faced his chair as he studied the other direction. She strode over and placed her hands on his shoulders. She felt him tense.

"Lest you forget, Linea, Dumbledore doesn't trust you as much as he does I. And don't touch me, Lin. Get out of my classroom. Now."

She obeyed without objection and shut the doors behind her.

* * *

The first day of the double class went somewhat rough between Snape and Kemi. She yelled that he didn't get all the supplies and he argued that she was a dimwit who didn't give him the correct list. It almost became a wizarding duel had not one of the Slytherins stopped them. The second class of that day was extremely awkward since neither teacher had anything nice to say to the other. Snape eventually took over and had the class brew the potions without the students knowing their purposes. It took the entire two weeks just to get the potions straight. Linea taught at intervals to give proper pronunciation and origins of the herbs. The potions were tested and several students had to go to the infirmary with their throat ripped out. Snape had gone to great lengths to obtain whatever it was he did get and took off nearly 2000 points collectively when a few students mixed them wrong. The last day of class, Snape and Kemi pretended to have reconciled for the sake of not killing each other. The students overall were too enthusiastic for their own good and another 2000 collective points were taken.

When the class departed early that day, a tense air lurked throughout the the shadows of the Potions classroom. Linea was sitting in a desk while Snape muttered to himself in the back. She finally rose from the seat and went to the side of the room to collect her many books and instructions. As she was flipping through an essay, the words blurred before her and she grew hot with anger.

Very sedately she whispered, "You had to bring it out, didn't you? This class will only give them fuel to think that there was something they didn't know about."

Snape flipped around and approached her harshly. "Me? You agreed to it. I couldn't back out. I asked Dumbledore-"

"You 'asked'?" she laughed. "Do you always have to 'ask'? Get people to respond to your decisions? No wonder you went to Voldemort. You needed someone to tell you what to do."

Snape pulled out his wand and pushed it into her back. "And you didn't? If my memory serves, after Hogwarts-"

She cocked her head and faced him, his wand now pointed at her chest. "Right," she snickered, "What are you going to do, Severus? Give me the Mark? Death?" She gripped his hand. Nearly hissing, "Ah, I forgot. I already have one of those. You can't live without me Snape. And you _know_ it."

His eyes glowed with hatred and a truth that was too cruel to admit. She pushed him away with a firm hand to the chest, swiftly collected her things and darted out before they could get violent.


	2. Progress

Just another reminder, this was all originally written in 2004. My apologizes if anything seems AU or OC since the publication of whatever book was out at the time. - AM

* * *

Christmas Eve dawned on an empty campus and a light flurry of snow and frozen rain. Only a few students and faculty had remained for the winter break, either because their home life was too cruel, too warm, too noisy, or there was just too much catching up to do in preparation for the spring term. The twelve Christmas trees that decorated the Great Hall yearly had finally finished being adorned with enchanted candles and multi-colored globes. Many more little lights floated up towards the ceiling which appeared to be casting snow down on the feast tables.

Linea donned her green and silver scarf and shuffled outside to the courtyard for a dose of brisk chill air. After a long enough time in which she was sure she'd be frozen, she went back to the dungeons where it was still cold, but it was a cold she was used to. Stopping to wipe lingering flakes of snow off her boots and cloak, she did not pay attention to the footsteps coming from the stairwell. As she started to push open the door to her large classroom, she was violently turned around and found herself kissing too-familiar lips.

Snape pushed her against the door, forcing it open, with one arm by her shoulder and the other on her neck. Gracefully stumbling into the room, door now behind them, he suddenly released himself and she watched him. He simply stood there, strangely calm, pushing back a strand of hair from his mouth. He reminded her of what he had acted like several years ago; they would experience a sudden and miraculous moment before he swiftly faded back to his normal anti-physical-contact self. As predicted, he tried to shove her off of the door handle but found himself unable to budge her form.

"Move, Kemi."

"You're drunk. I could taste it. What the _hell_ is wrong with you?" Under other circumstances, she may have welcomed the kiss. It had been so long now….

Whatever he had drunk, he'd taken a bit too much. His eyes were dull. Drugged? She'd never seen him like this before. He lost his senses and fell forward onto her. She was too exhausted to deal with his shit after she helped to clean the castle earlier in the day.

With a quick spell, he floated up and she led him to his room. _Thank Merlin that door was unlocked. _Laying him down properly in bed, her memories couldn't help but taunt her.

He was a quiet and sound sleeper when they were in school. She often stayed as his side despite his harsh and cruel words that stung her deeply until their next encounter. Tonight, Linea considered stripping off Severus' top layers but thought better of it since he would know and not look favorably upon the action in the morning.

After another moment's consideration, she left him without a second glace.

* * *

An hour later, Linea approached the largest tree in the Hall which stood in the center of its fellows near the back. The candles in the hall slowly dimmed as she entered and she noticed with a smile that much of the mistletoe that had been floating about had gone missing. The Hall had become deserted after the rest of the professors went to sleep and it was strangely, yet peacefully, quiet and serene in this typically bustling event hall.

Safely tucked within her robes, Linea stopped to look at the grand tree before her. Its own candles swiftly faded in acknowledgment of her presence, plunging the room into a dim shadow. The ceiling snowed lightly above her head, the spell casting away the illusion just before it reached her outstretched fingertips. As she stared at the tree, she felt a sudden tinge of happiness and calm that she hadn't experienced since leaving Hogwarts. But she admonished herself quickly; she wasn't used to feeling such things and became uncomfortable, readjusting herself with the folds of her robes. But in the atmosphere of these trees which were decorated with a beautiful shimmering white gleam, there welled a reaction so strong that it soaked within her and slowly dispelled the lingering darkness in her mind.

She heard a sudden crash behind her and swept around to see a house-elf scurrying away from under a tapestry. Near the entranceway, she saw a dark figure. She approached it, curious, coming to see that it was indeed two such figures that fled when they realized she had seen them. She rushed into the entrance hallway, seeing two students running towards the dorms.

"10 points each!...Whoever you are." She glanced backwards at the trees, still internally enveloped in their magic. She had the sudden urge to kill something after admonishing those students but dismissed the thought when she saw Dumbledore approaching from nowhere. His glasses gleamed as a few candles came back to life nearby.

"You're still up I see. How do you find it here?" He was still dressed in his wizarding robes, beard covering the front.

"I'm fine. Thank you." She answered abruptly and then, "I'm sorry, Headmaster. It's just that … I've never really bothered to look at them before. Even when I attended Hogwarts."

"Well, I can understand if you don't like them-"

"It's not that I don't like them, no not at all! But the thing is - you know, Professor."

He nodded. "Indeed I do, Linea. You don't have to mention it. Even Severus never really took to them fully." His eyes gleamed.

"Professor -, " she begged him not to continue.

"Don't think I don't remember. I recall when I was in my youth-"

"Professor-"

"Oh, yes, sorry. My point is, Linea, I've known you quite well since you arrived as a fifth year. I understand your choices, and now that you've returned to us, I'll give you my full support. But-"

"But you do not trust me as much as you had hoped. That's understandable, Headmaster. After all, my past was quite...well known." Her lips tightened. "Thank you, Albus. Now I should be off. Merry Christmas." She billowed past him as he acknowledged her departure.

She wandered the halls for a time until meeting Filch on the stairwell. He greeted her in the usual way, a grunt, until he looked at her again as he passed by.

"Kemi? Linea?"

She lifted the corner of her mouth in a twisted smile. "Uncle. How are you?"

"What does it look like? How am I? Take a guess."

"Wonderful as always I see."

"Don't know why Dumbledore hired you."

"Because he thought the course was challenging."

"That's not what I mean, Linea."

She shrugged. "Because deep down he's a good man and'll take in anyone who crawls off the streets." She said it sardonically, Filch smiling in reply.

"You're such a sneaky little twit. And a supporter of You-Know-You. Why you're not in prison I'll never know.

"Because my group-"

She was interrupted by footsteps from above. She and Filch both looked up and watched the staircases move until finally Severus Snape descended to join them. He, too, was still in his robes and nodded to both of them in accordance. Filch gave a last look at Kemi before he took his mangy form back to his office. She watched him leave for a moment before facing Snape who was a stair to two above her. His usual glare was met with one likewise.

"Rounding up the final students, Snape?"

"Little brats. How we could ever put up with them is anyone's guess."

"Surely you're used to it by now."

He descended to her step and continued past. "And I would have supposed that you are capable of keeping yourself in your own classroom and not to go sneaking around others, Kemi."

She caught up with him down the steps. "What's that supposed to mean? Are you suggesting …. Snape, it could have been as student. Peeves more likely. Or even yourself."

He stopped and snapped at her, "Why would I ever want to do that now? You're the one-"

"Me? Unless my memories have escaped me, Severus, you just couldn't get enough our last year."

The serenity that Linea had just experienced in the Great Hall and her encounter with the Headmaster disappeared in the sudden snap of words between herself and the man before her now. She was angry at him for this particular reason and internally begged this conversation to be _over_ so she could sleep well tonight. And yet he continued.

"Our last year, nearly the entire school knew and we had to keep using charms until finally you put it all to rest." He glazed off the sentence, realizing she had caught him up in her trick.

She smiled slightly, "Can we take this out of the corridor and into a classroom? Ghosts wander freely remember."

She took off to the dungeons, he following impatiently. Her classroom was dark and the chains on the ceiling swayed with a dull clank. He looked up as they entered and stopped beyond the door which closed behind him. She continued to her desk and sat, remarking that this room had once been for Filch's use to punish students. His eyes darted to where she was resting.

"What are we doing here?"

"In school, Snape," she spoke quickly, "I am often curious how much you really wanted to kill Potter when you realized that that Evans girl went to him in the end. I've also been contemplating whether you coming to me was simply a way to get her out of your head."

She could tell she had made him angry. Just what she wanted. The sooner it was out the better and she could continue with her life without the cloud over their heads.

"I did not need your pity."

"It wasn't pity. I came to loathe those four as much as you. And we were both equally skilled in the Dark Arts. We became Death Eaters but...," she stood and drew closer, "I do think that the fact you never saw me until this year-"

"I dealt without you, Kemi. Obviously you cannot get past that."

"I already have. Every time one of those dementors came near me, every single remotely happy thought was sucked out. You're the one who's having the trouble forgetting."

He grunted and replied, "I've had enough Kemi." He turned to leave before she stopped him again.

"Just listen to me once, Severus, without storming out. Just sit, please."

He faced her again. "I'm fine where I am."

"Sit!" She summoned an identical chair to her own and placed it next to hers.

Impatiently, he strode towards her and faced her from across the desk. "I'm fine," he scowled.

"Fine. You know, you may not have known this when we were students, but when I arrived in my fifth year, I watched what Potter and his friends did. I watched what little you did to stop them. Do you recall that day Potter sprung another head and was stuck in the infirmary for two days and then Sirius - you remember?"

"How could I forget."

"I did that. I defended you from the back but I never told you because I knew you'd only shove me off. The student body ignored me and the teachers... I do think they were a little ... fearful, because they knew what my parents once were and believed that my attendance in this school could be harmful. Of course I thought no such thing of turning to the Dark Lord until I left."

She fingered her cloak and brushed back a loose strand of hair to look at him. His expression hadn't changed but seemed eager to leave.

"Your efforts weren't needed, Kemi."

"Weren't they?"

Snape, visibly hesitant, took the chair next to her and propped his legs up next to hers. "No. They weren't. I could have taken care of them myself."

He shut his eyes and leaned further back, arms crossed. She studied the rusted chains and remnant pieces of cloth stuck to the ceiling. She vaguely remembered sneaking in here once. She couldn't recollect why.

She blinked and listened to Snape breathing next to her. She'd ask one more question.

"You stay here," she sighed, "and yet I don't understand the reason."

"I stay here so that I don't have to contend with you during the day annoying the hell out of me."

He shifted in the chair, brushing papers from his foot space. She shifted her gaze to beyond where he sat. One of her large glass jars was glimmering; the small pixie within flew around hopelessly and she considered giving it its freedom but that would mean a wasted adventure to the Isle of Man.

Linea noticed Severus looking at her and asked softly, "Do I really have such an effect on you?"

He tilted his head back again and saw a shadow flit across the stones above. "You have a unique aura that turns any man within himself."

She smirked. "Well, I am part elf. And a great-grandmother of mine was a Siren."

It was past midnight already and there was no evidence of any gifts being delivered to her. She'd be happy if anyone gave anything to a semi-loyal ex-Death Eater, but she doubted it.

They sat in silence. His pseudo-re-confession was a bit of a surprise. She smiled, looking away from him to the other side of the classroom. She couldn't believe they could fall back into this again so easily, that she allowed herself to open back up to him after what he did. It was what he didn't do that had hurt so much back then.

Was he sleeping? His breathing had slowed and she stared at him, reaching out to his face slowly as he shot out a hand and grabbed her wrist next to him. Opening his eyes, he didn't move when she turned her two chairs into a small couch.

"Keep to yourself." He released her and kicked his feet back upon the desk. She shifted to face him, leaned over, and kissed him before he could react and before her thoughts stopped her. A simple and soft tug to his lower lip portrayed her feelings clearly.

She pulled away as he glowered at her until he drew her back and returned the action. He gripped the armrest and she the cushions behind him as they continued, the passion rebuilding too slow until she suddenly drew back and he shoved her the rest of the way from him.

He stormed out and she sighed, cursing herself and him for something that was long believed and meant to be dead.

* * *

The small Christmas feast was exquisite that night. Linea had spent her day trying to find first-years to scold, but there weren't nearly enough to suffice and she therefore conceeded to traversing the halls aimlessly until coming to the Great Hall where the four house tables had been eliminated and only a smaller one was set in the middle. She approached the small gathering, noticing Dumbledore at the head, seated next to McGonagall on one side and Snape on the other. Flitwick and Trelawney along with Sprout had also joined them. Two students were present talking to themselves over half-consumed meals and goblets of wine.

Linea sat heavily in her seat next to Trelawney and was greeted by a "My dear you look ill", taking the plate of turkey that apparated in front of her. She received their 'Merry Christmas's gracefully but didn't talk to anyone present or meet anyone's eyes. She was not in the mood for conversation and her dememor was only dampened further by the presence of her ex-lover.

When she was finished, she stood to leave but was hailed by Dumbledore and taken aside towards the entryway. Linea saw Snape watching her out of the corner of his eye but promptly looked before her. She and the headmaster stopped at the wide doorway where he faced her gravely.

"Miss Kemi. I have received a letter from the Ministry," he said, handing her a small envelope from within his pocket. "I suggest you read it in your private chambers and take tomorrow to visit Hogsmeade."

He explained no more, nodded and smiled to her, and returned to the table. She didn't look back, stuffed the letter in her cloak and departed to navigate the halls again to no avail. Eventually she found herself outside where it snowed lightly, white flakes sticking to her hair and boots. She collapsed down into the snow, sitting cross-legged, and hesitantly retreived the envelope Dumbledore had just given her from within her robes. She stretched and tucked her legs up on which to rest her chin, holding the envelope out before her. She knew what it was, even as the tears swelled and left cold trails down her cheeks. She didn't wish to read it herself, she couldn't. Why couldn't Dumbledore just tell her what she needed to hear and let her be?

She sighed, standing, and watched the flakes descend, the moon gleaming through them, and Linea again felt that strange sense of warmth she had when standing before the tree. She cursed herself, stuffing the sealing envelope deep in a pocket and returned indoors, striding down one of the long corridors that was partly open. Brushing away the remaining dampness that had frozen to her face, Linea was barely aware of the hurried footsteps behind her until she realized it was Snape.

She halted, exasperated and tired, and asked, "What is it, Professor?"

He stopped a few feet in front of her. "I'm curious what you received."

"I haven't looked yet. I'm sure its of no importance." She continued down the way she had been going only for Snape to follow her. She stopped again, "Honestly, what is it?" Was he so oblivious to the pain written all over her face?

"It's about your loyalties isn't it? From the Minister perhaps?"

She whispered harshly, "I'll be in Hogsmeade if you want me."

A student appeared from around the corner suddenly and stopped to observe the two professors. Snape looked at her and Linea darted her eyes around, both blurting at the same time, "50 points".

The student sped back in the other direction, Linea and Snape glanced at one another before Snape brushed passed her and disappeared into the shadows.


	3. An Attempt

Early the next morning Linea trekked through the snow into Hogsmeade, trying not to think of the envelope still hidden from her sight in her pocket. She didn't know why Dumbledore would suggest for she to go to Hogsmeade since she had never met anyone there before, but in a way she was glad she was out for the day. She didn't have to see Severus and she liked the cold.

She nodded to a few Slytherins that she passed and entered the Three Broomsticks, taking a seat in a shadowed corner, wondering who would find her there today. She observed the occupants, a few students from the school and men from the Ministry here for a 'business meeting'. Her eyes finally came to rest on another man who was just entering. He brushed the snow off of his straight white hair and likewise off his cloak. She knew him immediately. From a past year. Lucius Malfoy. He seemed to look around for someone before he noticed she was staring at him. He gazed at her with those grey eyes coldly before a questionable amount of recognition streamed across his face. He strode over to her table, and she rose to greet him.

"Malfoy. A pleasant surprise."

"Do I-know you?"

"You seemed to know me just now." She sat back, tilting her chair against the wall, "Sit. Please."  
Pulling out the chair in front of her, he shifted his cloak and sat carefully, hesitant before this woman.

She leaned forward, chair smacking the floor hard and whispered menacingly, "Linea Nornokemi."

His eyes widened before he, too, moved his head closer. "Kemi?"

"Come, Malfoy, you know-"

"Yes, I do. And I am surprised you're not dead yet."

"Well," she snickered, "I finally have it coming. The other day Dumbledore gave me a letter," she pulled it out and passed it to him, but he paid no attention, "I am to be sent into exile-"

"That's it?"

"Up north. In the middle of bloody nowhere with four dementors guarding my house, one at each direction."

"But that's not nearly-"

"What I deserve, I know. I should be in prison with the rest of you. You recall shortly after you visited - it was before his downfall - I blew up the Australian division of the Ministry in Sydney. They seemed to have trouble relocating any information on me. When Dumbledore hired me-"

"You work at Hogwarts?"

"Yes. Languages of our society... Look, the Ministry didn't completely trust me and took a fit when I came to England. I offered to work, I told Dumbledore about my past, you know, and I had heard that Snape was working there so I figured I could, as well. But the last day of this school year I am to be taken north."

"But not Azkaban? Why? You deserve it."

"You'd think. Better for me. At least I won't die. And I have a better change of escaping."

"Well as long as it's not me...Too bad you won't be able to teach my son. You would enjoy his company."

"I'm sure I would. But unless you do something now... We both know how much influence you have, Lucius. You can get me out of this."

"It sounds as if you like teaching there."

She sighed and looked away momentarily. She had to keep up this attitude and turned back, leaning further along the tabletop. "Well of course I like teaching. I yell at students, sleep in the dungeons, give detention. I love it really. Better than risking being caught anymore. He might have disappeared but we sure as hell didn't."

"You're stuck, Kemi. I'm not about to risk my neck when they know what you were." He stood, still hushing his voice. "You're...not still active are you?"

She leaned back in her seat and rubbed the edge of the table. "Not as you are. I don't know what they must've dug up on me now. I have a trial, but its just the official sentencing."

"And when is that?"

"Day before I'm taken away."

"Well then, I will have to give you the best of luck. We'll need you later. So long." With that he slipped amongst the tables and left, no one giving any him any heed.

_Gods dammit. Why couldn't he help? Break a leg or two?_

She contemplated telling Snape later, but thought better of it. She didn't want to appear too foolishly hopeful in his eyes even though a piece of her refused to leave Hogwarts again until things were settled between them.

Dumbledore would take care of her, he had to. As much as she disliked him at times for tolerating all types of folk, she was glad now that he had tolerated her of all people.

* * *

Dusk had nearly set as Kemi returned to the castle, wasting more time than was necessary by eliminating her footprints along the way with sweeps of her wand. The snow was falling heavier and no one was in sight because it was too cold and would become too dangerous as night fell. Linea could hear the Whomping Willow swaying lightly in the distance and suddenly craved the destination where the path under its trunk led. But as she crossed the courtyard, she decided to find some specimens for her next class as a good distraction from her new situation. And the best place to find those was in Snape's dungeon.

Somehow she always found her way back there even when she never meant to visit or see Snape for an entire day. His door creaked inwards, revealing a deserted, dimly lit chamber filled with an aroma of a freshly brewed potion. Severus was either in his office or wandering somewhere, she supposed. Linea entered, shutting the door carefully behind her, and approached the cabinets and shelves that lined his walls. She dusted off various jars and containers along the shelves, in search of something very specific which he was _bound_ to have. He was the fabled Half Blood Prince, after all, master of every potion and dark art known to wizard-kind.

A few minutes later Linea had discovered a small jar of a red liquid, contained in which were, as she knew them, faerie wings. _A very rare find_. But she placed the jar on the desk behind her before she returned to study another jar she had found. A blue and black goop slopped about, and in the middle floated what looked like a large green cat's eye. _Perfect._ As she turned to place that one next to the other on the table, an unpleasant, familiar voice reached her. Despite the way her stomach churned and the knowledge that she received today and yesterday, Snape's presence was oddly calming because Linea knew the likely outcome of their encounter.

"When will you understand that you are not welcomed to study my classroom's goods at your leisure?"

Snape had entered the room and flashed his eyes from her to the two jars resting out of their usual positions.

"I needed things to demonstrate with for my next lecture, Snape. And seeing as you're the only one with these odd commodities, I didn't think you would miss only two from your wide collection."

They faced each other callously until he picked up the two jars and swished about their contents. Kemi flicked a hand and they flew from his grip out to the hallway and set before her own door. Staring back at him she continued, "I will get those back to you in two weeks time. By then however, I think nearly half of what there once was will be gone. You know how students are. Although I have a fairly tight hold on mine."

She studied his face for a moment before he replied, "Now, are you leaving, Kemi, because I have work to do and you took what you wanted without asking me."

"No, not everything."

With a few steps forward, Linea enveloped Severus' face in both hands, kissing him harshly, biting his lower lip enough to draw a trickle of blood.

She snapped backwards, dropping her hands to her sides and stared at the man before her in a dare to continue what she just started.

"What in Merlin's name is wrong with you, Kemi?"

She sucked in a deep breath, lips trembling, unable to inform Snape of the contents of her letter despite her surprising desire to do so. Even if she appeared weak, it wouldn't matter because there was only so much time left in which he could judge her without hesitation or reconsideration. Her hatred for Severus was gone now; she forgave him and only sought some distraction in his form.

"I can't – not feel like this even if I find it undesirable now. Is this such a bad thing to want wtih you? We used each other back when we were in school but we know that it came to be something much greater for myself. For now, will you allow this again?" _Even though I still don't know what happened to you at the end?_

Hesitant, Snape stretched out his long fingers to trace Linea's jawline before capturing her lips with his own, hands firm on her arms. Why was he holding so tightly when he was always the one to run away? The last time they had sex was a few days before the last day of term, before they rode the trains home. They had only been teenagers then; Linea had loved him and promised herself she would forever despite everything.

She reached to grip his waist and fumble with the buttons, but not before they both shrugged off the capes that had been around their shoulders. Fingers returned to each others' fronts, discarding that first article of clothing to the floor. Linea stepped back to sit atop a desk, summoning Severus forward into a hungry kiss, skirted-legs enveloping Snape around the waist, heavy-booted feet clunking against the legs of the table. Her own black dress shirt and his white one fell next as they left deep marks on each others' flesh that could only be covered up by their collars the next day. Linea scratched as Snape's sides as she ground against him, feeling him harden to the point that he elicited a deep throaty moan with the rub of her palm through his pants

"Kemi," he hissed. "Where do you think you're going?" Sitting up straight against him, she plunged down a hand, fingers catching the tip of his erection. She freed him with the zip of his pants, muffling another grunt with another kiss. Motioning to lay back, she urged Severus to crawl over her, black hair tickling her cheeks as he shoved up the long black skirt with one hand, ripping down her panties with another. A tinge of fear tickled through Linea's spine but she ignored it as she received another kiss and held tight to Severus' back, the heavy heels of her boots scraping along exposed flesh as he pushed down his own remaining garment and positioned himself.

"You won't get much warning, Lin."

"Aren't you warning me now?"

Tangling her fingers in his messy and oily hair, Linea urged Severus on. She welcomed the initial press again, memories flooding her senses of all the places like this classroom where they had been before. She craned back, hands never leaving his body as he picked up pace. The hard table hurt her back and strained his wrists as he propped himself up over her as she ordered him to keep going, to hurry before someone came and heard them.

_Too late for a Silencio spell_.

Craning into orgasm and he moments later, Severus stole another lingering kiss before pulling out and searching for his wand to clean up.

They heard the footsteps too late.

"Merlin's ass," she said.

"I'm sorry to disturb you Professors, but I wished to find you for a meeting. It's quite important," came a voice from the doorway.

Dumbledore.

Dumbledore and McGonagall were staring, gawking, and completely taken aback to see two of their half-naked co-workers in the middle of the Potions classroom. Snape was in horror, swiftly tugging back up his pants. Linea laughed and only rolled off the desk when Trelawney appeared behind Dumbledore and McGonagall. She stared at each of them in turn, and then into the classroom, eyes widening, admitting that she 'had seen this coming' and tried to warn the others before they went searching for Linea.

Although fully aware that she was 99% naked, Linea bowed in apology, saying that they will follow immediately. She summoned back their clothing and stalked up the aisle closer to the four teachers. Dumbledore's eyes were glittering and McGonagall looked as if she was about to puke.

"How long have you been standing there?" Linea asking, trying to slow her breathing.

"A few moments, Kemi. We heard rustling in here, and since you weren't in your own classroom, well, I knew where to look."

"I see." Snape stood behind her as they both gave violent death glares to the others before them.

"If you'll excuse us now that we located you both, I wish to see you in my office immediately. It's about your letter, Kemi. Also, Severus, I wish to have a vertaserium."

Linea's eyes widened for a second before unwillingly flaring back to a bloodlust. McGonagall ran from the room in a flash of green, Trelawney pulled her eyes away to leave, and Dumbledore slowly followed them out of the dungeons.

Neither Snape nor Kemi said anything as she departed from his room back to her own, where she placed away the two jars from earlier. Her face was hot and her hair was a mess. She felt her neck, it ached, but she'd leave it be. She heard the slam of a door- Snape's- before hard footsteps echoed past her room. She stormed out and followed Snape at a distance to Dumbledore's office. Although their passing through the castle was relatively deserted, they said nothing as she swept behind him.

Dumbledore was at his desk, petting Fawkes, and McGonagall stood behind the chair facing the headmaster. Snape occupied one shadow next to the headmaster's desk, while Kemi had taken the other. She was not keen on what was to take place next and hoped it would be over soon. No one looked at them until Dumbledore turned to her.

"Linea, I have arranged this meeting so that you can tell the others your situation. I decided to not get the entire faculty involved, because, well, they really don't have to be. But we four know you best... Severus, the potion please."

Handing it to Dumbledore, he glanced up at her for a spilt second before settling back in the shadows. She took the vial, drank the necessary amount, and froze.

* * *

Linea blinked with a sudden headache.

It was Dumbledore who spoke first and Minerva who replied.

"She is not active and I certainly don't see why the Ministry is suddenly pulling this on her."

"So do you suggest we intervene?"

"Yes. We're the only ones who really can do anything and we know that this sentencing is unreasonable."

Linea did not remember what she told the professors. She knew it had to be everything. She would ask Severus later when they had a moment alone because a conversation was really all she wanted now.

He remained grave as he spoke. McGonagall was still uncomfortable and tried to watch Linea who wasn't paying attention.

Snape hadn't budged an inch, staring off into space before turning his gaze to Kemi in the shadows of the office. They simply observed each other while Dumbledore and McGonagall argued indistinguishably. Kemi blocked out their words and remained staring at Snape even after he had looked away. What was it that marred his features?

"Linea?" Dumbledore's glitter had returned to his eyes. She looked down at him and over to Fawkes to fluttered sleepily on his desk. "You may return to your chambers if you wish. We'll do something for you."

She pushed off of the wall and nodded, mumbling, "Thank you, Headmaster." She swept out of his room as the others watched her leave, worried that no one would be able to help her out of this.


	4. Take Two

By midnight, Linea was asleep on top of her desk. She hadn't meant to fall asleep there; she had only thought that a nice nap after the meeting in Dumbledore's office would serve her well and perhaps allow her to regain some stability in her life after the past few days. Closer to one in the morning, she awoke to the pain in her back, a reminder of what had only occurred hours ago in Snape's office.

Stretching her limbs to dangle from the sides of the table, she started up at the ceiling, concentrating on the chains slowly clanging against one another. Sighing, she squeezed her eyes shut again in a vain attempt to block out the images and sensations which she had missed for years. She hadn't meant for anything to happen again between she and Severus but old feelings die hard, she supposed.

Linea doubted Dumbledore's ability to prevent her exile to the north. She fears dementors and what they did, what they did to one's happiness and thoughts and feelings and memories. She feared never stepping foot inside this school again and now regretted ever once leaving it. She wanted to be in this dungeon next to Severus and scream at him and write new hexes and potions with him and sleep with him afterwords, just as they had done when they were in school.

She had always believed that she was the main reason he did so well in school although this was a vain presumptuous belief. Whenever he invented something new, she'd congratulate him and allow him to try it out on her and never be angry if he really fucked up. He had allowed her to do the same because he knew that Evans would never allow it. Linea knew that she was not as skilled but Severus never minded when she thought of something and wanted to share it with him. Although he would become angry with her when she messed up but she could only laugh in return would make ever him more furious...

"I can't leave... I can't," she whispered to herself.

"Talking to a ghost, Kemi?"

She turned her head to the side to see Severus step forward and shut the classroom door behind him. He folded his arms around his back and leaned against the heavy wooden construction.

"I wouldn't have thought you could actually gather the nerves to come see me," she sighed. "You risk yourself."

Snape cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"What do you want?" Even though she had welcomed the sex again, her mind was too tired to focus on the more emotional side of things right now. She wanted him to leave her alone; she could ask him about what she told the headmasters later.

"I spoke with Albus. I offered to help you."

"Why?"

"I can't let you leave if you enjoy teaching here so much."

She pulled herself onto the desk, sitting up cross-legged to face him. He stopped a few feet from her. "That's your only reason?"

"It's the only one I will give."

She stared down at the floor and the bugs that scurried from between the stone tiles. "I still quite fancy you, Snape."

"A foolish trait of yours."

She looked back up at him and sighed. "How did we let that happen again?"

"I don't know. Although I should thank you."

"Why?"

"You ask too many questions, Lin. But if you'll excuse me-"

She jumped from the desk and took his face, kissing him in the same moment. He gripped her wrists and she broke away slowly, gazing as his collar. She pressed her forehead to his shoulder and Snape let go of her wrists, standing motionless as she rested. A few moments later she stood back up straight and swiftly turned away back to her desk. "You should do what you need to do, Severus."

He left without a word and Linea again rested on her desk.

* * *

The following night around ten, Linea donned her heavy leather boots and robe, covering her head and face within its large hood. She went out to to the Quidditch field in the snow and stood at its center, recalling the last time she saw a match, one between her own house and Ravenclaw. She stood for what felt like an hour before she heard the heavy crunching of footfalls in snow behind her.

"What the hell are you doing out here, Kemi?"

Barely looking over her shoulder at the dark figure approaching from a few yards away, she asked "What _you_ are doing out _here_ is the better question."

Severus stopped at her side, readjusting himself in his robes. "I came to see where you were."

"Why?"

"Do you always have to ask questions?"

"No. But I want you to tell me why you came to find me."

"I came to inform you that I have decided to resume at least part of our relationship," Severus said, staring off into the stands.

Linea snapped her head to look at him. His lips were tight and eyes blank.

"What do you mean? How deep of a relationship do you seek? I never would have thought, Severus. You've been so adamantly against me recently."

He said nothing for a few moments and then turning to face Linea properly, he said, "Dumbledore seems to think that he will be able to save you from your fate. And should that occur, I offer you residency for the summer."

"With you? I … Severus, thank you," she said, lowering her voice. She was grateful for his change of heart and this gradual weakening of years'-long separation and harsh barriers. "But – I still don't understand how you could come to change your mind so quickly…."

"I'm still a man, Kemi. And you have ways of getting what you want."

"So you've said before," Linea said with a laugh. "Let's go back in. It's become too cold."

* * *

Linea and Severus's footsteps echoed down the halls to their classrooms where each entered their respective room without another word or glance to the other.

Another two hours later, Linea opened the heavy door to Snape's office with a firm palm to splintering wood, immediately seeing the un-robed man sitting with legs crossed at a student's desk.

He turned at the sound of her entrance, his eyes so briefly lighting up at her appearance that anyone other than Linea ould have missed the greeting.

"You're still up," he said. Linea was not sure if that was a statement of the obvious or a question.

"Yes," she responded anyway. She stood put in the entry until Severus gave her permission to enter with another harsh remark of, "If you've got something to say, say it and stop starting at me like an idiot."

Linea smirked and took the necessary amount of steps forward to create a conversational distance between she and the distracted Potions master.

"Are you busy?" she asked.

"Yes."

"You're lying."

"Naturally." Snape set down his quill upon a pile of parchments and turned in his seat, one elbow perched on the edge of the desk, the other on the back of his chair. Linea came around to perch herself atop the table, hands gripped to its cold edge, and leaned over to steal a kiss.

Snape permitted the action then stood to gather his work and migrate to his own desk. Linea watched him move and he ignored her gaze as he settled and pretended to work. This did not last long, however, when Linea blew out the candles in the room with a flick of her wand.

"Do you mind, Lin?"

"Only mildly."

They both muttered a 'Lumos,' Kemi striding towards Snape and with a strong grip to his collar, urged him to stand up.

The chair screeched backwards with heavy _clunk_s as she forced Severus into a harsh and bruising kiss, taking his wand from his hand and placing it with her own to the side atop his desk. Kissing him harder and fumbling with his collar, she moved to sit on his desk, urging him to stand closer between her legs while gripping his hair and his fingers reluctantly coiled themselves in the fabric at her waist. He fingered her tunic, deftly pulling at the buttons until each was removed from its place. She held tight to his thick frock-coat, his lips tracing along her collarbone, descending to her breasts, stopping momentarily when the flesh continued and no cloth barred his way.

She took his hair and pulled his head back up, forcing him to kiss her lips again. Her other hand traced down his chest, undoing the buttons along the way and untucking the shirt from his pants. She gripped him between the legs, eliciting a familiar guttural moan into her mouth. Her fingers nimbly unzipped his pants but he caught her wrist and pressed it down on the desk. Severus bit her neck fiercely in punishment, drawing a slow welling of blood that would heal over by the next day. Linea again tugged him back by the hair and returned the bite to his own. She traced her mouth down his neck and chest, pushing him backwards so she could descend slowly, able to kneel before him without any protest and slipped a few fingers of her hand down to find what she sought.

"Lin," he commanded. His breathing was growing more labored but she didn't listen to him and slipped down his pants and shorts. He gripped her shoulders as she found him in the dark and kissed him once. She stood back up and took in his lips again, brushing her fingers against his cheek and slipped away from him in the darkness.

"Enough for tonight," she breathed.

"You are quite the tease, Kemi."

She heard him slip back up his clothing as she found the other side of his desk and her wand, holding it before her as she went towards the door, still fully aware of her state of partial-undress.

"Linea-"

She swiftly opened the door to see a small Slytherin boy stare up at her and her partly-bare chest. She stabbed her wand at the boy's forehead, his wide eyes unable to comprehend precisely what he was seeing. "I'm taking you to Dumbledore."

Severus couldn't help but snicker at the embarrassment of the situation. He quickly again became stoic and removed his wand as well, coming up behind Linea. He whispered in her ear that she may want to cover up. She huffed and instead sent the boy away with a large point deduction.

Again alone and in silence, Linea turned back and bid Severus a good-night. Still unsure if she could handle all of this again, she vowed to herself that another attempt at sex would not occur for quite a while.


End file.
